Red's Box

Once again time to test a new platform for posting! What excuse will I come up with this time for never adding new content?! Stay tuned.

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I have been encountering some minor frustrations with the webpage since the domain change, but believe I have fixed it. It should appear as it did before, or at least normal, if not let me know so I can delete the whole thing and give up.

Thanks!

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In case you didn't notice Red's Box now has a new domain! Huzzah! From now on either go to http://www.jeroddunn.com or I will melt your soul for an eternity. Not really, http://redsbox.blogspot.com will still forward you, but that's no fun, use the new URL! Use it now!

Yay!

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Just a heads up to keep an eye on this space for photos of Comic-con! I will try to throw them up every night, but who the hell really knows? I promise to try to try to not post pictures while drunk. :)

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I wanted to thank my good buddy Chris Palmer over at Soft Lead Creations for the fantastic header for the page. No longer is my crappy little space oppressed by the couch and dangling feet of yore. We can now browse the sparse, horrible content of this pitiful little sight without having to worry about what those feet are doing there and who has sat on that couch.

Seriously, this is great stuff and amazingly took about 30 seconds for him to doodle. Check out his webpage pronto for some samples and information if you are in need of his services. You won't be sorry!

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Yep, very bright indeed. Still updating site so bear with me. Thanks!

P.S. You can stop ingoring the couch now

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Seriously though, I have this new template and it is mighty and fantastic. The header, however, is what I'm calling "not my style" and is soon to be replaced. Bear with me. Or raccoon with me, whatever.

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Hey, it is now. Oh, you'll also find it listed under Wired's top phone for 2008, above the iPhone.

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This week only Steam is having a single Ubisoft game on sale for 50% off. The deals have been pretty great so far, Monday was Assassin's Creed for $10 and Tuesday Prince of Persia for $25.

Today they have Brother in Arm's: Hells Highway listed for $14.99. Great games for great prices and all with the convenience of Steam.

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Apparently Microsoft has acquired Caligari (makers of gameSpace and it's free Light version) and in order to promote their Live Earth modeling they have released trueSpace 7.6 (the most recent version) absolutely FREE. Don't be stupid, go download this immediately.

Seriously, you shouldn't be reading this anymore, and don't stop to look up some porn on the way.

Go now.

Now.

Now.

Enjoy.

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Guild Wars is frigg'n awesome. The second needs to hurry up and come out already. After having just completed my second dungeon raid (completely solo mind you) in Guild Wars last night, I have come to the conclusion that it is quite possible the most well put together game I have ever played in my entire life. Well done ArenaNet.

Maybe I'll post some nice screen shots of Guild Wars later, that might be enjoyable for all.

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I'm simply ANNOUNCING that I plan to add a running list of applications and utilities that I frequently use myself and would like to share. It is simply too late to get started on all this right now, but hopefully I will have something soon!

In the mean time, enjoy some pictures of fireworks!

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Turbine has released some information on the update that Guardians are going to get in the Book 12 release. Hit the article title for full post.

Overview
The Month of the Guardian is here! Guardians are receiving attention to both their primary tanking role and secondary damage-per-second role. We hope you'll enjoy these changes and the new depth they bring to the role of the Guardian.

Already the hardiest class in Middle-earth, the Guardian is able to withstand relentless onslaughts. Capable of maintaining a high level of threat generation, only the foolish and overly aggressive dare try to outpace them. Where this class is weakest is the ability to actually kill their foes.

We do believe that Guardians perform their core tanking role well. The changes in the Month of the Guardian are largely designed to provide interesting and viable alternative playstyles for the class while addressing core concerns such as repair costs and offensive stances.


Tanking - In the Line of Fire
We've added some new tools to the Guardian's tanking toolbox, the first being Shield Wall: the ability to protect a single target from incoming attacks (though leaping in front of attacks doesn't allow the Guardian to mitigate any of the damage on himself!). The goal of Shield Wall is to allow the Guardian to save someone in trouble by standing in harm's way.

We also wanted to add a single-target ranged taunt to the Guardian's repertoire. This comes in the form of Fray the Edge, which also increases the chance of random conjunction opportunities on signature (and above) monsters with each successful application.

Shield Taunt's functionality is also going to be changing, since due to some technical limitations this skill wasn't functioning as we expected. It will now provide a large threat add; previously it had a negligible threat add, but would bump the Guardian to the top of the threat list. Shield Taunt will now be much more effective at letting the Guardian generate additional threat, but will be less effective at digging the Guardian out of a deep hole.

We know that some changes to tanking are sure to be controversial, and we'll be keeping an open dialogue on them in the Guardian forums.

The first of these changes is to Deep Breath. A miscommunication during development led to the skill's reset being faster than the traited resets of the skills it refreshes. To address this we've increased the base reset of both the skill and the traited version. We are fully aware that Deep Breath's fast reset has become a key component of strategies to defeat some of the higher end instance bosses, and we are closely monitoring the impact this change will have on some of the very difficult fights on Isengard and will continue to do so on the live servers. It is not our intent to make these fights more difficult, but we understand that the Deep Breath change may have this result. It is our expectation that the new and updated skills in the Guardian's repertoire will greatly compensate for this reduced frequency of use. After we have additional feedback from players and data gathered from live we'll decide what if any future changes need to be made.

During Book 12's development, Catch a Breath was changed to have a faster action time and to deliver its attack hook at the beginning of the animation instead of the end. This change was made to improve the usability of the skill. However, it also revealed that players were previously able to use both Catch a Breath and Shield Swipe after a single block event. All of our combat event skills remove the event they require, and now Catch a Breath is functioning correctly in that regard. We understand that this will decrease the utility of Catch a Breath, but Guardians still have more healing in Book 12 than they did previously -- as Warrior's Heart now completely heals all the morale it adds to max morale.

We've been through extensive discussions both internally and with the Isengard testers about the potential issues associated with these changes and are confident that these changes will result in a more rewarding and enjoyable play experience. We will of course continue to monitor their impact as time goes on.

New Skills

Shield Wall - With Shield Wall we're introducing a different type of panic button for the Guardian. Instead of another force taunt, Shield Wall allows a Guardian to protect someone in an evolving situation. This skill does have a number of downsides as it's an extremely powerful tool; it's meant to be used as an emergency tool, not something that's always on.
All damage is transferred from the target to the Guardian
The Protected target cannot block, parry, or evade
Target receives no Item Wear from hits
5m Range
Costs power over time to maintain
Fray The Edge - Fray the Edge is a ranged taunt with a twist. Against Signature monsters and higher, it will increase the chance that a random conjunction opportunity will occur. This skill should aid Guardians in pulling back single monsters that have left their melee range.
Strong Ranged single-target Taunt
Increases the chance for a Random Fellowship Manoeuvre Opportunity on Signature and above monsters.
This effect stacks exponentially with multiple applications

Skill Changes

Shield Taunt - Shield Taunt will now generate more threat than it did previously, and will no longer provide a variable threat catch-up.
Catch A Breath - The Action Duration has been reduced to 1.5 seconds from 2.5 seconds, freeing you up to perform another action more quickly after using the skill. We've also moved the heal effect from the end of the skill to the start. This change fixed a bug that was allowing players to use both Catch a Breath and Shield Swipe from a single Block event.
Deep Breath - The skill reset timer for Deep Breath has changed from 5mins/2.5mins to 15mins/7.5mins.
Thrill of Danger - The traited version now properly resets in 5 minutes instead of 7.5 minutes.
Warrior's Heart - The traited version now properly provides Block and Parry response events on use. It now heals the Guardian for the amount of max morale it adds.
DPS - Cleave and Hew
We've created a new stance for the Guardian, called Overpower, that focuses on 2-handed weapon use. This stance is mutually exclusive from the Guardian's other stances, and increases the Guardian's melee damage output at the cost of power and defensive abilities. While in this stance the Guardian also gains access to several new skills. Force Opening does damage and opens up a parry response event on a successful hit. Stagger does damage, and slows a target's movement and attacks speeds on a critical hit and when used from behind.

In addition to these, Guardians will also receive a new skill called Salt the Wound. This skill can be used at any time to do a small amount of damage, but when it is used directly after the Thrust skill it turns the weak Thrust Bleed into a very strong bleed.

New Skills

Overpower - Overpower is a new offensive stance for Guardians that lets them put more effort behind their attacks at the cost of defense and power.
+15% to Melee Damage
Increases the power cost of all skills played by 20%
Reduces Evade by 5%
Disables Block
Mutually exclusive with Guardian's Threat, Guardian's Defense, Guardian's Parry.
Force Opening - Force opening is a medium-damage attack skill.
Requires player to be in Overpower Stance
Opens up a parry response opportunity on a successful hit
Stagger - Stagger is a low-damage skill that applies a debuff when used to attack from behind or on a critical hit
Requires player to be in Overpower Stance
Slows target's attack speed
Slows target's movement speed
Salt the Wound - Salt the Wound turns the mild Thrust Bleed into a much more powerful gusher. It also does low melee damage.
Strong Damage over Time effect if Thrust is present on target
Skill Changes

Sweeping Cut - Sweeping Cut previously had a long delay after use, preventing you from using additional skills. This delay has been removed, but as a result of you spending less time in the skill the damage per hit has been decreased even though the DPS has remained the same
Shield Swipe - The second attack hook was not properly pulling the weapon's damage type. This has been fixed.
Thrust - Thrust now has double the number of damage pulses on its damage over time effect.
Utility
Repair costs have always been high for Guardians. When they're doing their job correctly, they're getting hit more than anyone else in a party, and since they also take a long time to kill monsters they're hit more during solo battles as well. To address this we've taken a few steps to reduce the Guardian's overall burden. Heavy shields now cost a little more than half of what they previously cost to repair. In addition each of the Guardian's stances now reduces the number of item wear events that the Guardian receives. Guardian's Ward also reduces item wear events from hits when its effect is active, with the traited version reducing the number of events by 10%. Overall these changes should reduce the amount Guardians are spending on repairs, while at the same time Overpower should allow Guardians to generate income more quickly.

While not as cost effective, Guardians will receive the ability to summon a tinker to the campsites located near major instances. This travelling tinker will repair items at a price that reflects the higher value of the service he provides.

New Skill

Summon Tinker - This skill allows a Guardian to summon a Tinker to any Campsite (the same ones that Hunters can recall to). A Tinker is an NPC that will allow players to repair their gear at a premium.
Engage - This skill is designed to let a Guardian slow down a runner, and to potentially snap back single targets that he's lost aggro on while slowing their trip to whoever pulled the aggro.
The Guardian may choose a single target within 5m to Engage.
The Engaged Target moves at 75% of its normal movement rate.
The Guardian moves at 85% of its normal rate.
Engage brings you to the top of the target's threat list.
Item Wear

Heavy Shields now cost as much to repair as normal shields; they'll cost roughly half as much to repair as they did previously.

When the Guardian's Ward trait is slotted, the Guardian's Ward effect will prevent 10% of all incoming hit item wear events. Untraited, it will still prevent 5% of all incoming hit item wear events.

Guardian's Defense will prevent 5% of all incoming block item wear events.

Guardian's Parry will prevent 5% of all incoming parry item wear events.

Guardian's Threat will prevent 5% of all incoming hit item wear events.

Overpower will prevent 5% of all incoming parry item wear events.

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Just to give everyone a heads up, I am making a return to my blogger page. It should be fantastic.

Link of the Now

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Of course, no presses were hurt in our attempt to bring you breaking news.

You will find I did a slight tweaking of the layout. Now located towards the top on the 3rd column are my external links (which I will be adding to) and a news reader. Flip through the different subjects I have if you like. All the news is brought to you by Google. Yay Google.

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A third beta has initiated for Iron Clad Games’ entry into the RTS/4x (or RT4x) gaming genre, Sins Of A Solar Empire. The space setting game is sort of a Homeworld meets Galactic Civilizations II, sporting some extremely gorgeous graphics.
According to the Sins Of A Solar Empire website, Beta 3 (starting yesterday) will be available to anyone pre-ordering the game prior September 26th. Gamers can pre-order Sins Of A Solar Empire via Stardock’s TotalGaming.net.

So there’s still plenty of time to get in on the beta. It’s even testing multiplayer this round. The game certainly looks to be an insta-hit with the 4x and RTS crowd. Let’s hope these extensive betas squash all those pesky little bugs in time for an early 2008 release.
You can read more about the details of Beta 3 after the break.

Multiplayer-Enabled Sins Beta 3 Blasts Off Thursday
Pre-Order Customers Gain Immediate Access to Beta Test of Anticipated Space Strategy Game
Stardock Entertainment and Ironclad Games announced today that the upcoming Beta 3 of Sins of a Solar Empire, which begins on September 20th, will introduce multiplayer functionality and a host of other new features to the RT4X space-strategy game. Gamers who pre-order before September 26th will gain immediate access to Sins of a Solar Empire Beta 3, allowing them to vie for galactic supremacy with their friends via LAN and Ironclad Online (ICO). Players can pre-order Sins of a Solar Empire now via the world’s most user-friendly digital-distribution service, TotalGaming.net.

Scheduled for release in February 2008, Sins of a Solar Empire is one of the year’s most anticipated PC games. Hailed by GameSpot as “remarkably original” and “an elegant take on space strategy,” Sins of a Solar Empire puts players in charge of one of three distinct factions as they explore star systems, expand their empire, exploit conquered planets and exterminate their rivals, all in an intuitive real-time environment. The game’s unprecedented scale allows players to zoom from a view of multiple solar systems right down to a single fighter in the midst of a massive space battle, while the sophisticated interface ensures they’re not overwhelmed by their vast empire. Stunning visuals and remarkable artificial intelligence are among a massive number of features that help immerse players in this innovative strategy game that had PC Gamer warning its readers to “Expect to play into the wee hours of the night (and enjoy it).”

Features of Sins of a Solar Empire Beta 3 include:
Multiplayer for up to 10 players via LAN or Ironclad Online (ICO), as well as 14 custom maps to accommodate various multiplayer game types
New artifact/planet exploration system allowing players to spend resources to have analysts and scientists survey a planet’s geography, indigenous wildlife, and core industries to determine how best to exploit the natural wealth of the planet
Introduction of the ominous Pirate Base, all new pirate ships and new pirate behavior allowing players to influence pirate factions by economic means through new additions to the Bounty System
New environmental features, including space anomalies, a new planet type and planetoids that factor heavily into players’ tactical choices and overall strategies
The revolutionary Smart Zoom to Cursor camera, upgrades to the cultural system that allow players to intimidate enemies with capital ships, improved research mechanics, tons of new artwork, and many more improvements, updates and fixes

Via SinsOfASolarEmpire

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A new version of the Internet Tablet OS 2007 Hacker Edition for the Nokia 770 is now available for download. This version updates the platform software to the level of the Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition feature upgrade, to the possible extent. We are still working on improving it, but we have covered the basics.

This is not an end-user ready release and it is not officially supported by Nokia.

Main improvements
All the user space libraries have been updated, as well as all the applications. We expect application portability across the Internet Tablet OS 2007 and the Hacker Edition as long as the code is not compiled specifically for OMAP2. Some applications might suffer hardware limitations as well.

Bugs fixed:
File manager can handle files properly.
Certifications work with browser.
Media Player
Still bugs but it works quite well.

Same limitations as in IT OS 2006 because of the same osso-media engine.
libSDL sound
Device information (N800 to 770 hacker)
Device locking and starting with or without power supply.

Known issues
Unfortunately it hasn't been possible to provide the new third party software, due to licensing constraints:
Skype client support
Adobe Flash browser plugin

This version of the Hacker Edition is still using the Internet Tablet OS 2006 initfs, so the kernel and device drivers are the old ones. DSP related components are also the same due to licensing and hardware constraints. There is no support for larger memory cards. The Mozilla based browser is not included in this release, and the current version for the official Internet Tablet OS 2006 has some conflicts with dependencies. However, it shouldn't be difficult to build new packages specific for this Hacker Edition and then install the Mozilla engine manually.

Also:
Internet calls are not very reliable.
Occasionally the boot process is interrupted due to issues with DSME, metalayer-crawler and related components.
Bluetooth connect or to be connected to/as file storage.

What's next
We are continuing the work on the Hacker Edition with the following goals:
Update to maemo 4.0 Chinook
Mozilla based engine
Further bug fixes

We are also populating the bug tracker in the Garage project with the bugs carried from the IT OS 2006 (many of them now fixed). Issues with the Hacker Edition should be reported there and not in bugs.maemo.org. Suggestions to improve this project are welcome as well.

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Hopefully you have noticed a change in the appearance of my small space. I will keep the updates coming, but in the meanwhile check out some of my shared articles from Google Reader on the left.

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Welcome.

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